Day 14: Lunch

I had my first restaurant meal in two weeks today, and I forgot to bring my camera. (Too bad- it was pretty.) It was at the Golden Temple (of course), and I had kitcheree, a green salad with Goddess dressing, and a decaf sweet tea.

What is kitcheree? It's a vegan Indian dish, which was very similar to the Indian food I have eaten in Britain, where I fell in love with Indian food. Due to the high Anglo-Indian population, Indian restaurants are as ubiquitous there as Mexican restaurants here, and for some reason we just can't get a handle on it stateside. I love Taj India, and I'm itching to try the Hyderabadi restaurant that just opened in the old Pyramid's, but American-Indian food isn't the same. Kitcheree is a stew-like dish of mung beans, rice, chopped vegetables, and garam masala. It's "very good for the digestive system" (as one of the employees told me) and is traditionally served with yogurt. Of course, I had to stop them from putting yogurt in mine; they substituted vegan sour cream in its place, which when mixed in gave the kitcheree a creamy texture that was most palatable. (If I use the word "palatable" too often in this blog, somebody please stop me!)